The sergeant who oversaw the immediate investigation of the Union Street fajita assault case testified Tuesday that he had seen the conflict as "a typical bar fight at closing time" and felt no need to afford the alleged victims the chance to identify their attackers in person.

Sgt. John Syme -- who is facing internal department charges for allegedly mishandling the initial probe -- testified in uniform about the events of Nov. 20, 2002, during the assault and battery trial for Officer Matthew Tonsing and former Officer David Lee.

Tonsing, Lee and former Officer Alex Fagan Jr. have been charged with attacking two men early that morning on Union Street after one of them refused to hand over a bag of steak fajitas.

Syme, a 21-year veteran, was one of seven departmental supervisors who were briefly under indictment last year for allegedly conspiring to block the police investigation of the incident.

The indictments were all dismissed, but Syme was accused in the department charges of falling down on the job. Among other things, Syme did not arrange a "cold show" where the alleged victims could identify the attack suspects on the street that night.

He also did not separate the off-duty officers when they were taken to Northern Station, something that is standard procedure when several suspects are arrested for a crime.

In his testimony Tuesday, Syme said he had immediately drawn the conclusion upon arriving at the scene that he was dealing with a "typical bar fight at closing time," given the location and what he concluded were indications that alleged victims Adam Snyder and Jade Santoro had been drinking.

There was no need for Santoro and Snyder to identify the off-duty officers because the three had already admitted to him they had been involved in a fight when their pickup truck was stopped near the scene.

He said Santoro and Snyder had pointed out the truck as it drove past while officers were taking their report. "That, to me, satisfied the need for a cold show," Syme said.

Syme said Lee, the driver, appeared sober. Lee is charged with driving while intoxicated.

At an earlier hearing, Syme testified that Lee had told him the off-duty officers had been drinking, gotten into an argument with Santoro and Snyder and that one of the men had "sucker-punched" Tonsing.

Syme never put the officers under arrest. He testified Tuesday that when they began peppering him with questions, he told them he would have to read them their rights if they continued talking.

Once the men were taken to Northern Station, he said, he tried to keep them from talking to anyone else but let them stay in the sergeant's office together because there was no room to separate them.

Under gentle cross-examination by Lee's attorney, Mark Nicco, Syme insisted that the fact that Fagan, the son of the recently promoted Assistant Chief Alex Fagan Sr., had been in the truck had no bearing on how he handled the incident.

"Quite frankly, I could care less if it was the chief's kid," Syme said. "I wanted to make sure everything was done correctly."